(SPOT.ph) During the season of feasting, nothing says Christmas like a table laden with an indulgent feast anchored by a glistening roasted ham (no disrespect to the ubiquitous queso de bola). In our search for the perfect holiday ham we have learned much about the power of nostalgia. Our horizontal ham tasting evoked emotional reactions so visceral and with reverie so intense, it was nearly impossible to choose which one we liked best.

As with anything else, the range in preference runs the gamut and therefore so does our list. Should your tastes prefer salty over sweet, baked over smoked, shoulder or shank, or should you enjoy a traditional Virginia-style baked ham over a sharp and pungent Chinese-style one, we’ve found a ham for you:

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Excelente used to be our favorite (besides Majestic--have yet to taste Joy's) but we stopped buying Excelente a couple of years back ever since we say a baby cockroach swimming in their sauce (mind you, we were in the store buying it). After all these years and being successful with their ham and all, you'd think they'd at least upgrade their store and keep it clean.